It is well known in the art to use various types of incandescent and fluorescent light sources for residential and commercial buildings, mounting them into a ceiling tile or drywall type ceiling or wall. Light sources are provided in either surface mounted or recessed configurations, and in the case of recessed mountings the housings can be cylindrical, square or rectangular. The square and rectangular light sources can be sized for mounted directly into ceiling grids where no cutting of tiles is required.
There have been recent developments which utilize low voltage or Light Emitting Diode (LED) sources in place of the traditional incandescent and fluorescent lights. These LED arrays are smaller in physical size with a nearly flat profile, lending themselves to low ceilings with limited plenum space or even low profile surface applications. The LED arrays are also much more energy efficient that traditional light sources, and offer the option of multiple colors and rapid on/off cycles.
It is also well known in the art that various speaker arrangements are used in a variety of recessed enclosures intended for use in suspended and drywall type ceilings and walls in residential and commercial buildings. The speakers can be either the traditional cone and magnet type, or a transducer type attached to a transmitting surface.
Other audio sources can also be incorporated, such as sirens, piezo buzzers, whistles and the like. Traditional speakers can be furnished in specialized audio ranges such as woofers, mid-range, and tweeters. The various audio devices can be powered by a centralized amplifier, and controlled by an audio source such as a radio, CD or MP3 player, microphone, or computer controlled announcement system. The audio source can send a single output signal such as background music or paging to all the speakers, or it can send specialized audio outputs to speakers in certain zones, such as localized announcements in airports. The audio devices can also be supplied with a receiver to receive wireless transmission of an audio signal from a remote transmitter.
Ceiling and wall mounted lights and speakers are generally mounted separately from each other, as the electrical power and control systems for each are completely different. There have been some light and speaker combinations proposed for recessed mounting in ceilings and walls, but most of these known systems are intended for home use, and were not envisioned for large commercial applications. In addition, the lighting in these configurations was intended strictly for illumination, and did not have any implications for emergency assistance such as fire, weather emergency, or other communication applications. Combination lights and speakers have consisted of lights mounted directly in front of the speaker components, which has wattage limitations in terms of heat generation, and can create a fire hazard if the lamps used become too hot.